Magazine on Icelandic design and architecture

All posts filed under: Student Series

With tourism growing at an acute rate, Icelandic agencies and landowners are now working to minimize accidents and preventable risks by building up the national travel infrastructure needed to support the large influx of incoming travellers. Hætta / Athugið contributes valuably to this effort with customizable icons and a thoughtful system that will soon be tested at popular tourist attractions in collaboration with the Environmental Agency of Iceland. Hætta / Athugið by Ívar Björnsson is a customizable signage system that uses humour and charismatic graphic language to address the serious issue of tourist safety in Iceland. There is a current lack of consistent and effective signage across the country and tourists often may not realize the bodily risks encountered while traveling the countryside—whether intense winds, unpredictable beaches, or glaciers. How would you describe your project? The increase of accidents in Iceland following the tourist boom is a national concern. Current Icelandic warning and danger signs are not sufficiently effective or systematized. My objectives were to create a signage system that succeeds in grabbing attention of …

Blikur by Dagný Björg Stefánsdóttir is an investigation into ways we can sensorily relate to the weather. Poetic and meditative, the project transmits quiet strength as it melds contemporary design with old traditions and methods as a way to reconnect us with our bodies and the environment. These four minimal artefacts are a direct comment upon our dependence on technology and its corresponding loss of traditional knowledge for reading nature. As beautifully observed by Thomas Pausz, the power and beauty of Blikur lies in its reactionary nature: “Change is happening and we are learning to listen again. Blikur participates in this new consciousness.” Hello Dagný! How would you describe your project? Blikur is a series of four objects made out of materials that change in dialogue with different atmospheric conditions to reveal patterns of the weather with movement rather than numbers. The objects are sensors measuring atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity levels and wind direction. They encourage the viewer to learn how to read into nature—into its surroundings and seek to reestablish the connection between humans …

Through the Looking Glass is a series of spotlights showcasing new design talent. The series offers an in-depth look into six exceptional graduation projects from the Iceland Academy of the Arts, along with an introductory interview with Thomas Pausz—a professor of product design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and the curator of the 2017 BA degree show TEIKN / GESTURES. In the interview below, Thomas helps us gain a greater perspective on this year’s graduating students and insight into what young designers are making today. Through the series, we hope to gauge the upcoming creative pulse in Iceland and offer a window into how a new generation of creatives is responding to times of environmental anxiety, political instability and redefined values. — As the curator, how would you characterize this year’s graduating projects? I was very inspired by the humour with which the students are addressing difficult topics. We live in confusing times, with a disturbing political and ecological crisis, but this generation is making the choice to challenge the gloom and to …